Ice Energy, the leading provider of distributed thermal energy storage solutions, and Horizon Solar Power, one of California’s largest installers of solar PV systems for residential and commercial facilities, have completed the installation of a solar-plus-ice-battery-storage system at Palm Springs Cultural Center in California’s Coachella Valley. As California continues to push for greater deployment of distributed energy resources, this project demonstrates the economic value of combining solar PV with ice battery storage to displace peak electricity demand and enable solar self-consumption on a grid-wide scale.
The solar-plus-storage system comprises 73.6 kW of solar panels and five Ice Energy Ice Bear 30s, which have replaced the Center’s outdated HVAC system. During the day, the solar PV supplies the energy needs of the Center, including charging the Ice Bears. In the evening, the Ice Bears provide up to four hours of comfortable cooling using a fraction of the electricity normally needed.
“We’re witnessing a trend in which the incentives for solar power export are decreasing, so businesses and homeowners are looking for new ways to maximize their investments in solar PV,” said Mike Hopkins, Ice Energy CEO. “A well-designed solar-plus-ice-storage system like this one can provide efficient cooling comfort, optimize the use of solar over-generation, and help utilities to flatten their load on a grid-wide scale.”
“The Cultural Center’s greatest energy load comes from turning on the AC in late afternoons and early evenings for community events,” said Claude McGee, Horizon Solar Power Director of Business Development. “The clean energy created by our solar PV system, combined with the flexible storage and cooling solution provided by the Ice Bears, reduces both the Center’s energy bill and the community’s carbon footprint. We look forward to working with Ice Energy on more projects like this across California and the rest of the U.S.”
The Palm Springs Cultural Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, sought to replace the building’s HVAC system after its AC systems failed in 2015. California’s Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), combined with Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing, enabled the Center to install the solar-plus-ice-storage system with minimal up-front investment.
